It's "Officially" Spring!

I abhor winter. I search for signs of Spring as early as January. Yup, as soon as the calendar swings around into the new year, I'm ready for Spring. This year, as with last year, we've had lots more winter than Missouri usually sees. So it's been grim around here in my search for the first sign of Spring.

But I now declare, IT'S OFFICIAL, SPRING IS HERE!

I don't care if they had 10 inches of SNOW in St. Louis this Tuesday or 4 inches over on the east side of my town on Wednesday. The blizzards raging through Ohio this weekend don't bother me a bit.


because I've found SPRING!


This little plot is located outside of where I work. It's a 3 x 9 foot patch of raw earth. For a gardener like me, I see a blank canvas waiting to be painted. Just last week, I was telling Warren how we were going to come over here soon on a weekend and level the dirt out and start PLANTING!

I've walked past this garden plot every day, dreaming and planning, looking at the dirt, wondering if it was old construction fill or if it has any topsoil with nutrients in it or if we'd have to haul some good earth over here along with the bulbs and seeds and mulch. I'm thinking we can split out some of my most prolific perennials and bring them here.

Then a couple of days ago, a faint shimmer of GREEN caught my eye as I walked up the ramp. I stopped in my tracks. What is that? Oh, wow! It's green! Some thing's growing in Missouri! Even though the green is weeds, I don't care. My long quest for a sign of Spring is over. I don't have to look anymore.

SPRING IS HERE!

Never mind the blizzards, people. The snow has already melted in St. Louis. It will melt in Ohio, too. Spring has definitely grabbed hold of the calendar and even though winter is not giving up without a fight, I know now that Spring will prevail.

Let's hear it for SPRING!

8 Things...

Laurie has memed me. So here goes...will try to relate these to the cats...

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

1. Hamilton, my cat
2. Miss Ellie, my husband's cat
3. Henry, my daughter's cat
4. Jackson, my daughter's other cat - she's got 2, too!
5. Lucky, my son's cat - he's only got one but he's huge, rescued from a shelter in D.C.
6. Snugball, my daughter's childhood cat - gone by not forgotten
7. Eclipse, my son's childhood cat - gone by not forgotten
8. Peaches and Popcorn - our cats when first married in Minneapolis - gone but not forgotten

(You are maybe beginning to see the 2-Cat Pattern here?)

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:

(I made this list out about 10 years ago and one by one, they get done!)

These are done:
1. Have an English Garden - multi-leveled
2. Have a Family Home - big enough for family members to come back to and visit and hang out and celebrate holidays in
3. Put in Hardwood Floors
4. Retire from Teaching (after 30+ years)
5. Get something published - several Americana articles in Country Decorating Magazine - this was several years ago so hardly counts anymore

These are not done:
6. Sing in Rockin' Gospel Choir - I'm still hoping for this one!
7. Own a summer home on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan - would have to win the lottery for this one!
8. Erect a Family Vacation Lodge on Warren's Family Land in South Dakota - ditto #7